Makakauwi na? Trillanes sees opportunity to go home after SC ruling

A window of opportunity for Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to finally go home after having holed up in his office in the Senate for a week has opened, as the Supreme Court’s (SC) has taken judicial notice of President Rodrigo Duterte and the Armed Forces’ statements that he would not be arrested without a warrant.

Trillanes is considering to go home tonight or tomorrow, as his abogados say the SC’s recognition of the public pronouncements of Duterte and the military would be enough to shield him from arrest.

“Now that this is the Supreme Court which has taken official notice, if they still arrest Senator Trillanes despite of that, then in effect, sa Tagalog, binabastos na nila ‘yung Supreme Court kapag nangyari ‘yan,” Trillanes’ abogado, Rey Robles, said Tuesday (September 11) in a media briefing after the SC denied the senator’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572, which declared his amnesty void from the start.

“Should I go out later or tomorrow and I would be arrested, then it would be in open defiance of such a decision,” Trillanes said.

However, in another media briefing later in the day, Trillanes said he would stay in the Senate as advised by some senators, as he has information from the Armed Forces that there is still an arrest order against him.

The SC rejected Trillanes’ petition for a TRO against Duterte’s proclamation, as there is no “extreme and urgent necessity for the Court to issue an injunctive relief,” taking notice of Duterte and the military’s statements that the senator would not be arrested without a warrant from a court.

Despite these previous pronouncements, Trillanes opted to stay in the Senate as there was supposedly still an order for him to be arrested, citing military sources.

Trillanes said his camp would coordinate with the Armed Forces and the police regarding the SC’s decision to ensure that they interpret it the same way: That he cannot be arrested without a warrant from the court.

He warned that if he still gets arrested despite the SC decision, his arresting officers may be cited in contempt.

“Pagka ginawa nila ‘yun, eh ‘di ganito na ‘yan. Kumbaga they run the risk of getting cited for contempt by openly defying the Supreme Court decision, at the same time we would have all the legal remedies available to us,” Trillanes said.

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